Urbana Ward 3

A City Council opening due to Aaron Ammons winning the County Clerk race this year has an application deadline at the end of this month (more information from the city's website, including application here). As noted in the News-Gazette last month, the mayor will be taking into consideration the recommendation of the former seat holder:

Ammons said he has met with four or five people who have expressed interest in replacing him and will hold a vote of members of Ward 3 at a meeting next week to select the final name he will recommend to Mayor Diane Marlin.

It's her appointment to make, and she said she will be using an application process similar to the one used to fill vacancies on city boards and commissions. She said she'll respect Ammons' recommendation but will stick with the application process to decide who will replace him. Marlin will begin taking applications Dec. 3.

Full city council article here. Other city council members offered their advice to potential applicants:

Ammons' soon-to-be-former colleagues offer praise for him, advice for successor
...
Miller and fellow Alderman Dean Hazen had some advice for whoever's thinking of replacing Ammons: Clear your schedule.

"It's a big up-front commitment," he said. "You have to make sure that you have enough time outside of just Monday nights. You have to be prepared to do some learning, especially if you're coming from not a lot of municipal experience."

...

A good alderman, Miller added, will use every resource to come up with a decision.

"You have to be a city planner, a police chief, a fire chief when you're making decisions," Miller said. "But it takes turning to those people to pull from every bit of that to make good decisions."

Alderman Eric Jakobs-son's advice was simple: "Think as hard as you can about what the right thing is, and do the right thing."

"It's a really interesting challenge to balance the needs and desires of your constituents with the needs of the entire city," he said.

Full article here. Application information available from the city website here:

The City of Urbana is accepting applications for the Urbana City Council seat vacated by Ward 3 Alderman Aaron Ammons on November 30, following his election as Champaign County Clerk. Per state law, Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin has up to 60 days from the date of a council member’s resignation to recommend an appointment to the City Council. The Council must then vote on the appointment within 30 days.

The City Council application is available in the Urbana City Clerk’s office at 400 S. Vine St., the Urbana Free Library’s first floor circulation desk or second floor reference desk, and the Douglass Branch Library, 504 E. Grove St., Champaign. It also may be downloaded from this website. See attached application information and the downloadable application. 

Deadline for applying is December 31, 2018. Legal qualifications for the office established by state statute include the following:

1. Must be eligible to vote in municipal elections.

2. Must have resided in Ward 3 for at least one year.

3. Must not owe any delinquent taxes, fees, or fines to the City of Urbana.

4. Must not have been convicted of a felony in any U.S. court.

Links to the application and directions on how to submit it by e-mail area also available at the link.